


when they ask why you love the rain, the ocean, the river

by QuenchiestCactusJuice99



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst probably, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Hoshigaki Clan Shit I Just Made Up, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, character study of Kisame, i dunno man i write so much angst i can’t tell what qualifies anymore, implied/referenced death/killing, listen. i tried, no really on-screen killing tho?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24201067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuenchiestCactusJuice99/pseuds/QuenchiestCactusJuice99
Summary: One hundred and ten years ago, the Hoshigaki clan was small. A small clan next to a small inlet that led to a big sea.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	when they ask why you love the rain, the ocean, the river

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno man. Saw this poem and it inspired me, and then I sat down and somehow wrote 1k of whatever this is
> 
> Poem is Water, by Nikita Gill:  
> when they ask why you love  
> the rain, the ocean, the river  
> tell them  
> it is because  
> unlike the people  
> who should have  
> loved you better,  
> the water was never afraid  
> to touch you;  
> even when you were  
> at your most damaged  
> and broken

One hundred and ten years ago, the Hoshigaki clan was small. A small clan by a small inlet that led to a big sea.

They live by the water and on the water and with the water, because water is life, in or out of the desert.

One hundred and ten years ago, the Hoshigaki clan was small. And then Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had a dream, and they made it come true.

A village; a collection of clans, of shinobi and civilians both, created to protect - to defend. To keep children safe.

And the other countries saw it, saw it  _ working, _ and they followed. Mizu no Kuni builds  _ Kirigakure no Sato, _ to match Hi no Kuni’s  _ Konohagakure, _ and Kaminari no Kuni’s  _ Kumogakure. _

The Village Hidden in the Mist beckons to the clans spread far and wide through Mizu’s borders, and the Hoshigaki clan is small.

So they come when called. And suddenly, they are not so small anymore. With the rise of the Villages, the Warring States Era is declared over - and Senju Hashirama proclaims,  _ there is peace. _

And with that peace, the Villages flourish. And when the Villages flourish, so do their inhabitants. 

Seventy years ago, the Hoshigaki clan was enormous. They still lived by the water, on the water, with the water - but they did it with others. 

In Kirigakure, no one was turned away. It didn’t matter if your teeth were the wrong side of sharp or your skin was the wrong side of pale or you had abilities that weren’t necessarily pretty or comforting.

The Hoshigaki clansmen have never remembered a time when their skin was not blue and coarse, or their teeth were not jagged and long. They have never remembered a time without their summons, a time when they were not nearly  _ one _ with their summons.

(The Hoshigaki clan had always gotten on with the Inuzuka clan, back in the Warring States Era. They could understand in ways others couldn’t.

But they’ve long forgotten that, now. Both of them.)

The Hoshigaki clan was small. Then it was enormous. And then…

Then the wars began. Senju Hashirama had declared,  _ there is peace. _ But the nature of shinobi is a destructive thing, and that peace lived a half-life of tension until it snapped.

War after war after war, and eventually, even home wasn’t safe. 

The outsiders say,  _ Kirigakure fell into a civil war. _

This is not necessarily false. There were factions, and it was contained within Kirigakure for the most part.

But Kiri denizens do not call it  _ the Kirigakure Civil War, _ as everyone else does.

They call it  _ the Bloodline Purge. _

(Kiri used to welcome all. Kiri used to rival Konoha’s reputation for acceptance, because Konoha was welcoming, but Kiri was built of misfits and outcasts, who knew, who  _ understood _ the pain of being a pariah.

In Kiri, everyone knew. So everyone welcomed.)

They call it  _ the Bloodline Purge, _ and so the clans began to dwindle.

For those with visible traits to set them apart, it was worse. For the  _ Hoshigaki, _ it was worse.

Down, down, down went the numbers. Less and less Hoshigaki survived to their teens. Less and less Hoshigaki had children, for fear of losing them. Less and less and less.

The Hoshigaki clan, like so many others, dwindles down to single digits. Nine. Seven. Four.

One.

Hoshigaki Kisame is the sole survivor of the Hoshigaki clan. The Shark Summoning Contract, he decided long ago, will die with him. They had lived with his clan, and they were content to die with them.

One hundred and ten years ago, the Hoshigaki clan was small. Seventy years ago, they were enormous. Now, they are small again.

Perhaps, before they were small, the Hoshigaki clan was great. But there is no use wondering. Not when they have no hope of becoming so once more.

Hoshigaki Kisame swears loyalty to Kirigakure - no, to the Mizukage - and he does it because he loves the water, and he always has.

(This never changes.)

Kisame is also a teenager at the time, and there are many things that come along with that. Stupidity, hormones, crushes, little to no impulse control, more stupidity, the works.

He discovers things as a shinobi: how to kill a man with his bare hands, how to tell when he’s on the edge of chakra exhaustion, and the amount of force needed to yank down someone waterwalking above him.

That he hates lies. That he can summon without a solid surface under his hands, and that others can’t. How to avoid pissing off the poison specialists. How to kiss. Where to go for armor maintenance, and which takoyaki stalls use fresh ingredients.

How to paint his nails. How to keep his nails from ripping. That he really hates the Uchiha, and how to apply burn cream. Which medics turn a blind eye to window escapes. Which medics will beat him senseless for it. How many dumplings he can eat in one sitting.

That he can bite through a man’s hand if he tries. That the taste of blood is different when it’s not his.

That some people can leave him giddy and wondering if being around them is what it’s like to drown, and that the same people can tear holes in his coarse blue skin like he’s made of wet rice paper.

That killing a sensei isn’t as hard as it always used to seem. That he  _ really _ hates lies. How long it takes for S-ranked organizations to jump on potential recruits. That he doesn’t hate  _ all _ Uchiha.

Hoshigaki Kisame learns a lot of things as a shinobi, and there are some he wishes he hadn’t. Sometimes he doesn’t know which are which.

He ignores the looks he gets when he applies Akatsuki’s signature nail polish on his own and doesn’t fuck up majestically, and then ignores the complaints when he never has to get them redone as often as the others.

Uchiha Itachi is okay, for an Uchiha, Kisame decides at some point. 

He wonders if Kakuzu is old enough to remember whether the Hoshigaki clan used to be great. He doesn’t ask.

For a bit, Akatsuki is fluid. 

(Like water, and Kisame has never had to learn to love the water.)

Kakuzu keeps killing his partners and it’s always entertaining until they have to look for more recruits, and Kisame is briefly disappointed that Zabuza isn’t S-ranked yet.

Maybe Kisame will recommend him when he makes it.

Then, after a while, Akatsuki starts to feel… good. Almost like a home, or something very near to it. Some of the members are unstable, but that’s just fun when he’s cooped up in the base all the time.

Akatsuki, at its max, is ten members. Not exactly large. But that’s okay.

Kisame is used to it.

**Author's Note:**

> fuck the mizukage


End file.
